how to adjust old school brakes

[2seas]

a friend of mine has old school (not disc) brakes on he bike, both front and back. the front ones are slightly touching the wheel (with the brake not engaged) and the rear ones make a horrible "whale giving birth" sound every time they're in use. So my questions are:

1) When i asjust the brakes how far away from the wheel should they be?
2) When adjusting them should they be pointed at the edge of the rubber part of the wheel or at the rim (metal bit) of the wheel?

thanks chaps!

[OneDs]

2seas said:

a friend of mine has old school (not disc) brakes on he bike, both front and back. the front ones are slightly touching the wheel (with the brake not engaged) and the rear ones make a horrible "whale giving birth" sound every time they're in use. So my questions are:

1) When i asjust the brakes how far away from the wheel should they be?

Just! far enough so they don't touch the wheel when it spins. if the wheel is out of true (not straight, buckled or wobbles) when it spins you need to get the wheel sorted.

2) When adjusting them should they be pointed at the edge of the rubber part of the wheel or at the rim (metal bit) of the wheel?

Under no circumstance should you use the tire to stop the bike, heat will build up and the tire will blow when they need it most. The pad should ONLY touch the rim (metal). The front of the pad should be slightly closer than the rear.

thanks chaps!

I'll see if I can find a youtube vid to explain

Here you go:-
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-v-brakes/

Edited by OneDs on Thursday 19th August 17:19

[pdV6]

To stop the squeal, the pads need to be adjusted to slightly toe-in.

I do this by wedging a slice of card under the trailing edge of the pad whilst aligning it.

[Torquey]

Old school? Old school? I'd have a set any day over some cheapo cable disk brake.
Far easier to adjust too so you have a head start.

There are 3 main adjustment points, just fiddle with each until you figure out which works best for you

[2seas]

cheers guys.

to the person who mentioned they should be 'toe based', i understand what you mean but which end would be the 'toe'?

also; on the front brake there is a fair amount of free play before the brakes engage - how do i fix this?

[timbo48]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but if you've got "V" brakes, then you shouldn't have to have them toe in, if they're the ancient canti brakes, then you do and it's leading edge towards the rim but whichever type, first of all make sure the wheels are true otherwise the brakes will never work properly.

[pdV6]

I've always found that a little toe in instantly cures most squealing v brakes.

[2seas]

Ok, on my (frankly amazing) diagram of a brake next to the rim, which letter would be the toe?

[ewenm]

The toe is the edge of the brake block nearest the front of the bike.

[itsnotarace]

Toe in is slightly pointing inwards at the front

Everything you need is here including pics

http://www.parktool.com/repair/printhowto.asp?id=2...

[2seas]

itsnotarace said:

Toe in is slightly pointing inwards at the front

Everything you need is here including pics

http://www.parktool.com/repair/printhowto.asp?id=2...

excellent!

[rhinochopig]

Don't forget to adjust the little grub screws. These adjust the movement of each brake arm. They should both move together - not one to the rim then the other.

[mattviatura]

OneDs said:

I'll see if I can find a youtube vid to explain

Here you go:-
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-v-brakes/

Edited by OneDs on Thursday 19th August 17:19

This is a massive help. I want to learn more about repairs and adjustments to my bike and this is great. The less money I have to pay to the arrogant ahole in my local shop the better.

Thanks very much.

[2seas]

mattviatura said:

OneDs said:

I'll see if I can find a youtube vid to explain

Here you go:-
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-v-brakes/

Edited by OneDs on Thursday 19th August 17:19

This is a massive help. I want to learn more about repairs and adjustments to my bike and this is great. The less money I have to pay to the arrogant ahole in my local shop the better.

Thanks very much.

+1 very clear guidance there, so good that i can forgive the guys monotone..